Lil Red Machine

Wow, what a sudden reversal of roles.

In the recent playoff history between these two franchises, it was always the Pistons who were the heavy favorites, and the Cavs who were trying to pull off the upset. Now, the Cavs have achieved elite status, and the Pistons are barely hanging on by a thread. This Detroit team has no real leadership. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are fine players, but have always been complimentary pieces. They can’t take over games. Outside of the obvious thing that people talk about with Rasheed Wallace (his legendary temper), even if he manages to stay out of trouble with the refs, he will probably jack up too many three-pointers.
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………..is going through the Q! Many franchise firsts have been achieved this season, but none as important as this. The Cavs not only have home court advantage through the eastern conference playoffs, but in the finals as well, should they get that far. That awful Sunday afternoon in Boston where the Cavs were oh so close to winning game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston motivated the team to take a step back, asses their areas of need, and fill those voids. They have done so, and what Cavaliers fans see right now is a team that seemingly can do no wrong.
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There were plenty of reasons to be nervous heading into this game against San Antonio.  The Cavs were coming off a huge thumping courtesy of the Orlando Magic.  The night before that, they got beat by the lottery bound Wizards.  In addition to that, another key frontcourt member was out, as Anderson Varejao sat this one out due to a wrist injury.
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There are rumors that Jason Kidd wouldn’t mind teaming up with LBJ and the gang after the season

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/03/cavaliers_insider_no_kidding_a.html

Please, PLEASE don’t do this.  Jason Kidd is how old?  He would probably want too much money.  They could sign him to the mid-level exemption without going over the luxury tax, but the bottom line is, they have more pressing issues to attend to.  Cleveland has an aging frontcourt, and it has to decide what to do with Wally Szczerbiak and Anderson Varejao coming off the books.  Keep them, or let them go?

Perhaps Kidd could be to the Cavs what Gary Payton was to the Miami Heat when they won their title in 2006, but that’s a base case scenerio.  He’s actually been a pretty decent 3-point shooter this season, contrary to the popular belief of those who say he can’t shoot, but I think once Gibson is fully healthy next season (he’s been playing with a bum foot all year), he’ll be able to capably fill that backup poing guard spot–and is much younger.  Besides, Kidd’s specialty is having the ball in his hands, and the Cavs already have a guy who specializes in that.  You have have heard of him.  His name is LeBron James.

So, I’m hoping the Cavs don’t “Kidd around” and sign this aging liability.

4 games up, 13 to go.  Also, 1.5 games up on the Lakers for the best record in the NBA.

This may be the greatest Cleveland sports team of all time.  LeBron James, without a doubt, has passed Kobe Bryant as being the best player in the NBA, and deserves his 1st MVP trophy, but I would trade that opportunity for a championship for the city of Cleveland.

The only concern–and it’s a legitimate one, is that Cleveland has struggled this year vs. elite competition.  They were swept by the Lakers in the two showdowns this year, and still cannot figure how to win in Boston.  Here’s a history lesson, though.  When the Cavs beat the Pistons in 2007 to reach their first ever finals, they couldn’t BUY a win in Detroit that season, and struggled against them as a whole.  Insert in a 2-0 deficit, and many people were saying that the Detroit had Cleveland’s number.  Well, we all see what happened in the end.

I keep having all of these random thoughts about the bigger picture while I’m watching Cavaliers games in the present.  Obviously, the ultimate goal at this point is a championship, and anything short of that is a major disappointment.  With that said, coming from somone who has spent most of my life following just AWFUL sports teams, it’s an absolute joy to watch this team, and to have the confidence that no matter what, on most nights, they WILL find a way to win, no matter the circumstances.

Speaking of said circumstances, they were rough going into last night’s game against the Trail Blazers.  More bad news, as key reserve Wally Szczerbiak found out that he will miss up to three weeks with a knee injury.  Also, they were going against a young and hungry team fully immersed in a western conference fight till the bitter end.  Young teams that run like Portland does give the Cavs fit, as Cleveland isn’t a very good transition defense team.

The first half was brutal.  Absolutely brutal.  36-34 Portland at the half?  That’s right.  Not a 1st quarter score, but a HALFTIME score.  However, in the second half, LeBron showed off some excellent post moves, scoring from a position on the court where his critics said he didn’t score enough from.  Clutch shooting, and committing only two turnovers is a good recipie for victory.

One thing I have to say is, it’s a crying shame that Brandon Roy of Portland doesn’t get more pub than what he gets.  He is a fantastic player that hit big shots last night to help send the game into OT, but playing in the pacific northwest for a small market team is what keeps him largely out of the public eye.  Assuming they make the playoffs, rest assured, he will make a household name for himself.  Him, and the team as a whole, is a complete 180 removed from the “Jail Blazers” teams from the early part of the decade.  They are young, athletic, and have good heads on their shoulders.

I don’t think the Cavs want homecourt so much as they need it.

Quicken Loans Arena has turned into a madhouse.  Back in the Lamond Murray/Chris Mihm/DaJuan Wagner era, I could go to a game the day of, and get courtside seats off of a scalper for $40, and hang out with a few thousand of my buds, and count by hand the number of people sitting in the upperdeck.  It was a depressing place.

Now, it’s amazing to see the place light up the way it has.  Who cares if the majority of the fans are fair weather?  They are there, and they are making a difference.  The crowd really helped propel them to victory tonight against the Magic 97-93.  Everyone who follows Cavaliers basketball knows that the Magic has given them fits lately.  Only one home loss on the season, and it’s mid-March.  LeBron did his thing, pouring in 43 points.  Mo Williams had 21.  Both men hit clutch shots.

Orlando has a bright future, though, and they aren’t a team I would want to face in the playoffs.  They kept it close, despite a relatively quiet 15-point game from Dwight Howard, who only took 8 shots.  That’s the same number of three-pointers that Rashard Lewis took–and missed.  Both of those occurances are statistical anomylies.

Here’s Hughes when asked by the Cleveland Plain Dealer if he missed playing in Cleveland.  This was right before the Cavs’ Sunday night game against the Knicks:

“No”

And here he is again when asked if he was happier in New York than Cleveland:

“Yeah, I’m definately happier.”

Larry got paid.  Being a respectable NBA player and being on a good team are clearly secondary goals to Hughes.  In a sense, I guess part of that mentality really isn’t that objectionable.  We tend to judge all guys against the hypercompetitveness of one Michael Jordan.  Most people, though, aren’t like that.  They just want to go to work, get paid, and go home.  NBA players shouldn’t be expected to carry a different mentality.

However, Hughes ought to remember that the Knicks are using him.  He’s happier?  Really?  All he is to them is an expiring contract.  He had it all when he came to Cleveland.  He managed to fool the NBA scouts when he declared for college.  He was terribly inconsistent during his short stay.  He fooled everyone in Philly and Golden State.  “He still has potential” everyone was saying.  In Washington, he greatly beniffitted from having volume scorers around him to take the pressure off of him.  He could go out there and average 20 PPG, shooting percentage be damned.  The Cavs saw that big number on the stats page, and Danny Ferry then went on to make one of his worse moves as a GM in giving him a 5-year, $70 million deal.  His scoring average was empty, much like a .300 hitter on baseball who never walks.

His tenure in Cleveland was a disaster.  To be fair, he had some personal tragedy in his life, as his brother passed away.  At the end of the day, though, the Cavs were so desperate to get rid of him, that they didn’t care that Ben Wallace was a bust for the Chicago Bulls.  Chicago could’ve sent him over, or merely just a bag of new basketballs and a peanut butter sandwich, and it wouldn’t have made any difference to them.

In a salary dump, the Bulls dealt him to the Knicks about a month ago.  He’s getting minutes for them.  Big minutes.  Maybe Hughes is a diabolical genius.  10 years after being drafted, he’s STILL fooling people.  In Mike D’Antoni’s system, Nate Robinson looks like an all-star and Chris Duhon is looking like an elite level PG.  Hughes is getting his, and laughing all the way to the bank every two weeks.

We don’t miss you either, Larry, by the way.

The Cavs went 3-0 on their west coast trip.  If I didn’t pay attention to any of the game results or trends, I would be happy, but the story goes much deeper than that.

Cleveland, whom prides itself on tough defense, got shredded in a couple of those games, and also had to rally to win the games vs. the Clippers and Kings, two moribund teams.  It shouldn’t have to come to that.  The Cavs are the top road draw in the NBA and will get every team’s best shot.  I realize that.  The Cavs are their “super bowl.”  Early in the season, though, Cleveland was burying those kind of teams, and getting plenty of rest for the starters.

Congrats on winning the central title for the first time in 33 years.  While I do realize that some games, you just win any way you can, as you have to take what you can get, Cleveland needs to get the ball rolling on the defensive end of the court again, and put these lottery bound teams away.  This is energy being wasted that will be needed for the playoffs.

I had a random thought last night during the Cavs’ 119-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns:

Just how good would that Phoenix team be if their key guys were all in their primes? A superfluous discussion, certainly, but interesting to still sit back and ponder. Their core is old, or hurt (in the case of Amar’e Stoudamire). I was trying to picture the 2004 version of Steve Nash running the ball up the court, with several delicious options at his disposal. Obviously, you want to get the big man going, first and foremost. That being Shaquille O’Neal from roughly 2000. If for whatever reason, the nine guys guarding him are actually able to hang on for dear life, then you have a 1996 Grant Hill, who can handle the ball and play very similar to the current LeBron (minus the power game). Also, you have pre-microfracture surgery Amar’e, who could power it to the hole and dunk on anybody at anytime.

Welcome to 2009, boys. (and thank GOD the Cavs didn’t have to play THAT team last night in which I just described)

Nash and Shaq are still capable of putting up numbers, but are clearly on the decline (Shaq much more so than Nash). You can’t even call Grant Hill aging anymore. He’s aged. Obviously, Stoudamire is out for the season with an eye injury, but even when he was healthy, he was forced to play more of the perimeter game due to his condition.

The Cavs feel no pity, though. They have their own battles. Every game is very important from this point on. The Cavs have Boston in their rear view mirror, but the term “object in mirror are closer than they appear” clearly applies here. Cleveland has no room for error. The lack of urgency that was missing at the start of the game against the Clippers was there last night from the start. Phoenix, led by Matt Barnes who had 21 and Nash who had 20, kept up, but Lebron James put up his second consecutive triple double with 34 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds. Mo Williams had 30 of his own.

Down 97-95, Phoenix looked to have a breakaway opportunity, but Jason Richardson did something unbelievably stupid. Maybe he thought the 360 dunk attempt would give them more points than just 2, but that’s what he tried. LeBron came up from behind, and swatted it. TV replays showed that LeBron got his wrist as well. Richardson understandably grew upset, and got a technical for it. When you are on a sinking ship, and you are playing against one of the elite teams in the NBA, you aren’t going to get the benefit of the doubt on those calls. Just go for the simple play.

Sasha Pavlovic…….SASHA PAVLOVIC(!) hit three 3-pointers in the 4th quarter. The (deservedly so) much-maligned guard has had yet another rocky season, so you take from him whatever you can get.

The Cavs have an “easy peasy, nice and easy” game vs. a dreadful Sacramento Kings team tonight. Isn’t that what fans were saying about the Clippers game, though? Don’t let those cowbells at Arco Arena get warmed up.